Tell John not to leave the house unless he _______that the lights ______ .

  A. will make sure, turn off                            B. makes sure; are turned off                      

C. will make sure; will turn off                   D. makes sure; will be turned off

China is having such a huge influence on the United States that many Americans are struggling to learn the Chinese language in a bid to keep competitive.

"Interest in learning Chinese among American youth and their parents has grown quickly in the past five years," said Vivien Stewart, vice president at the Asia Society. China's quick rise to near-superpower and its effects politically, economically and culturally are driving the American's interest to learn the language, experts say. From kindergartens to high schools, studies by the Asia Society show, there is a "rapid rise" in interest among pupils to study the Chinese language.

"The Chinese rich cultural traditions and blossoming economy mean that it is now important for all of our students to be better prepared," said Michael Levine, Asia Society's executive director of education. A survey found that 2,400 high students—an unbelievable high number—would be interested in offering the Advanced Placement(AP) courses in Chinese language and culture when the courses become available in 2006.

China, the world's most populous nation, is important to the United States because it is a leading trader, consumer and investor. Its political influence is also rising across the world. It has replaced the United States as the world's largest consumer and could become the second largest economy in the world, after the United States, in the next two to three decades.

Even though the US State Department has described the Chinese language "critical" to national prosperity and security, "the current facilities to support recruitment (招募)of students and teachers as well as the growth of high quality programs is terribly not enough," an Asia Society study says. The Society has set an aim of having at least five percent of American high school students learning Chinese by 2015.

"Millions of Chinese are learning English, but only 24,000 Americans are learning Chinese," said Andrew Corcoran of the San Francisco-based Chinese American International School. The most popular languages after English in US schools at present are Spanish and French while Japanese is the most popular Asian language.

53. The underlined word blossoming (Para. 3) means _________.

A. developed           B. developing           C. old                    D. weak

54. Why do more and more Americans begin to learn the Chinese language?

A. To keep competitive.                     B. To gain advantage in trade.

C. Because they are always interested in it.   D. To be a bridge between the two big countries.

55. What problem is the US faced with when it comes to learning Chinese?

A. Too many Chinese are learning English.

B. Not many people want to learn foreign languages.

C. The language is rather difficult compared with English.

D. A lack in current facilities to support recruitment of students and teachers and programs.

56. What is the best title for this passage?

A. Danger from China                      B. Foreign Language Learning

C. The Chinese Language gets More Popular   D. Difficulties in Learning the Chinese Language

第一节 语音知识（共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分）

从A、B、C、D四个选项中，找出其划线部分与所给单词划线部分读音相同的选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

1. natural            A. tobacco           B. diamond         C. breakfast         D. phrase

2. pressure       A. pleasure        B. measure        C. ocean           D. suggestion

3. heard            A. heart           B. pear                 C. dear             D. learn

4. variety           A. series           B. diet                C. field              D. believe

5. snatch                A. stomach       B. technical　      C. charge　         D. character

The crowd cheered wildly at the sight of Liu Xiang, who was reported _______ the world record in the 110 meters hurdles race.

       A. breaking           B. having broken                  C. to have broken   D. break

However busy he is, he will ____ some time for exercise every day.

 A. put away              B. turn out            C. bring in                   D. set aside

第二节  完形填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）

       阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

       Life is like potato salad; when it’s shared it becomes a picnic．

       When my three children were young, my husband, Roy, and I were very    36   ．

       “Can we go on a picnic, Mom?” my six-year-old daughter, Becky    37   ．“Please．”

       I had said no so many times in the    38    months, and I decided the usual Saturday morning chores （日常工作） could wait．To her    39   , I agreed．

       I prepared a few sandwiches and    40    a cooler with ice and drinks and called Roy 41   ．My eleven-year-old twin sons put the cooler and the picnic basket in the trunk and off we went to spend some    42    time together as a family．

       About the time I got the lunch    43    out on the table, Roy arrived on the    44    ．

       That was one of the happiest meals we ever shared together．The meal was filled with 45   ．We felt a closeness that had been hidden by work and school    46   for so many months．Roy and the boys    47    rocks into the lake．Becky fed the ducks and I sat quietly on the picnic table,    48    God for blessing me with such a wonderful family．

       That night as our    49    went to bed, I kissed their cheeks and realized what a wonderful life I had．

       As I walked out of the room it dawned on me that even the busiest    50    could become a picnic when it’s shared with the ones you    51   ．

       Even though the kids have now grown up and    52    from home, I can still remember how I felt that day while sitting at the picnic table．

       Maybe today would be a good time to    53    potato salad, call all of my grown kids, feed some hungry    54    and skipped a few rocks into the lake．Since life is like potato salad, let’s make it a    55   ．

36．A．old        B．poor          C．busy          D．miserable

37．A．begged    B．asked         C．doubted        D．wondered

38．A．coming     B．recent           C．following      D．later

39．A．doubt       B．disappointment C．sadness         D．surprise

40．A．supplied   B．provided       C．combined      D．filled

41．A．off work   B．at home        C．at work         D．on business

42．A．unhappy   B．quality          C．quantity        D．sad

43．A．spread      B．taken         C．made          D．cooked

44．A．scene     B．view          C．event        D．landscape

45．A．sadness     B．expectation      C．hope          D．laughter

46．A．orders    B．charges        C．activity         D．responsibilities

47．A．missed      B．took           C．skipped         D．left

48．A．praying  B．praising        C．thanking       D．trusting

49．A．family    B．children        C．friends          D．parents

50．A．lifestyle   B．time          C．world          D．family

51．A．enjoy           B．own          C．have          D．love

52．A．left alone  B．passed away     C．ran away       D．moved away

53．A．supply      B．cook          C．watch           D．plant

54．A．ducks       B．children        C．family         D．people

55．A．salad    B．life             C．picnic        D．hope

As you dash outdoors in the middle of winter, you might make it halfway down the block before realizing that your ears are freezing because you forgot your hat.

Now, scientists have shown that even though you’ve had an apparent memory lapse(丧失), your brain never forgot what you should have done.

Memory works mainly by association. For example, as you try to remember where you left your keys, you might recall you last had them in the living room, which reminds you that there was an ad for soap on television, which reminds you that you need soap, and so on. And then, as you’re heading out of the door to buy soap, you remember that your keys are on the kitchen counter. Your brain knew where the keys were all along. It just took a round-about way to get there.

Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are studying associative memory in monkeys to figure out just how this complicated process works.

First, the researchers trained a group of monkeys to remember arbitrary(任意的) pairs of symbols. The researchers showed the monkeys one symbol(cold weather) and then gave them the choice of two other symbols, one of which (a hat) would be associated with the first. A correct choice would earn them a sip of their favorite juice.

Most of the monkeys performed the test perfectly, but one kept making mistakes.

“We wondered what happened in the brain when the monkey made the wrong choice, although it apparently learned the right pairing of symbols,” said study leader Thomas Albright.

Albright and his team observed signals from the nerve cells in the monkey’s inferior temporal cortex (ITC), an area of its brain used for visual pattern recognition and for storing this type of memory.

As the monkey was deciding which symbol to choose, about a quarter of the activity in the ITC was due to the choice behavior.

Meanwhile, more than half the activity was in a different group of nerve cells, which scientists believe represent the monkey’s memory of the correct symbol pairing, and surprisingly, these cells continued to fire even when the monkey chose the wrong symbol.

“In this sense, the cells ‘knew’ more than the monkeys let on in their behavior,” Albright said. “Thus, behavior may vary, but knowledge endures.”

57．The example of the keys and soap is given to explain the relationship between __________.

       A．memory lapse and human brain      B．memory and association

       C．memory and television ads          D．memory and our daily life

58．Which of the following best expresses the general idea of the text?

       A．Your brain may forget something, but not always.

       B．Activity is a round-about way to memory.

    C．Your brain remembers what you forget.

       D．Monkeys have better memory than us.

59．The researchers believe the monkey that made the wrong choice ________.

    A．also knew the correct answer           B．had the worst memory

    C．failed to see the objects well           D．had some trouble with its nerve system

60．The underlined word “endures” may be best replaced by __________.

       A．disappears   B．increases        C．improves         D．remains

 They went on well at first but eventually everything ______ they had worried about happened．

       A．which   B．what           C．that            D．when

The conference aims to develop business and let people think about _____ they can have a positive influence on the planet．

       A．why      B．that            C．what      D．how

 --- Did you pack him some food?   

--- Yes, ____he wouldn’t get hungry．        

       A．as soon as           B．as a result       C．so that            D．in case